


If the Devil Has Horns

by Moonlovingvampire



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexual Keith (Voltron), Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-27 07:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12076041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlovingvampire/pseuds/Moonlovingvampire
Summary: "Keith had only done something as innocent as run his fingers through Lance's hair."Lance has a date with Keith. And sure, it's not like they haven't been on dates before, but now they're actually boyfriends, and it's turning them both into a bubbly mess of nerves and excitement.During the date, however, Keith uncovers a secret Lance has been keeping. When he tries to convince him to get help, he finds out just how painful this secret has been for Lance.





	If the Devil Has Horns

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Star (StarlightKnight) and Ink (InklingDancer) for supporting and beating this fic. I doubt it would be written without you.  
> And thanks to Star (stardreamerlove!) for helping me with the title!

"The human species is made up of seven billion subspecies each consisting of one specimen."

~Robert Brault

* * *

Lance was nervous. He was going on a date with his _boyfriend!_ They had made it official just last night over text, (he'd texted Hunk as soon as it happened; he was so excited) and this would be their first date as an actual couple.

 _My first boyfriend_ , he thought excitedly as he finished getting ready, carefully styling his hair the usual way, (but perhaps with more care than he normally did). He grabbed his bag and was just about to leave when he realized he hadn't taken any pain meds yet today. As he took the pain medicine, he noticed that he would have to hurry if he wasn't going to be late.

* * *

Keith was nervous. Lance was coming over. His _boyfriend_ was coming over. For a _date_. In his _apartment_. God, when he agreed to plan their date yesterday he honestly had no idea what he was doing. _That's what I get for following my instincts,'_ he thought. He'd spent what felt like half the night panicking about what to do before he'd given up and texted Pidge.

 

 **Keith:** _Pidge help me what should I do for me and lances date tomorrow_

 **Keith:** _Or I guess it's today now_

 **Pidge:** _what the fuck keith why are you asking me_

 **Keith:** _I DON'T KNOW I'M KIND OF FREAKING OUT HERE I DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS_

 **Keith:** _Besides who else is up in the middle of the night_

 **Pidge:** _…_

 **Pidge:** _Fair enough_

 **Keith:** _so what should I do_

 **Pidge:** _dude relax_

 **Pidge:** _It's a date, not a diplomatic mission. Dinner. Movie. Ice cream._

 **Pidge:** _why do you have to make everything difficult_

 **Pidge:** _It's just Lance, you've gone out a bunch of times before_

 **Keith:** _YES BUT THIS TIME IS SPECIAL_

 **Pidge:** _omg keith…. Are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?? :OO_

 **Keith:** _fuck off pidge_

 **Keith:** _That joke wasn't funny the first time and it sure as hell ain't funny now_

 **Keith:** _I never have nor do I think I ever will be interested in having sex with anyone_

 **Keith:** _Not to mention the fact that it is physically impossible for me to get pregnant on the account that I am a cis male_

 **Pidge:** _omg keith I love it when you get all long sentences and shit_

 **Keith:** _well I'm glad someone is enjoying it_

 **Keith:** _Anyway the reason why it's special is because we decided to be boyfriends_

 **Pidge:** _OMG KEITH WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME_

 **Keith:** _WHY? DOES THIS CHANGE THE DATE IDEA???_

 **Keith:** _Also I just did_

 **Pidge:** _yeah what hours later?_

 **Pidge:** _I thought we were friends keith_

 **Keith:** _I thought we were???????_

 **Pidge:** _lol relax dude I'm just messing with you_

 **Pidge:** _And no, I stand by my earlier suggestion_

 **Pidge:** _Even if he is your boyfriend now it's still just a date_

 **Keith:** _okay_

 **Keith:** _Okay_

 **Keith:** _So. dinner then movie_

 **Pidge:** _don't forget ice cream!_

 **Pidge:** _thet afre inpomrent_

 **Keith:** _will you ever let that go_

 **Keith:** _Seriously_

 **Pidge:** _never_

 **Pidge:** _Anyway I helped you with your date so can I go back to what I was doing thanks_

 **Pidge:** _Remember to think of me when you name the kid :*_

 

So with that conversation, he had _some_ kind of idea what to do. Then all he had to do was _actually_ plan it. So, here he was, waiting for Lance to arrive. God, he hoped Lance would like this. _Why did I decide to cook? Who thought this was a good idea? Oh right, Shiro did._ Lance would be arriving any minute now, and Keith had a lasagna in the oven.

He tried very hard not to think of Pidge's pregnancy joke. (He failed.)

Holy crow, his _boyfriend_ was coming over for homemade lasagna. _Ha ha! Take that younger me! I have a boyfriend!_ Keith had a really hard time trying not to smile about that. He had a _boyfriend_. Aaand then he remembered that he needed to finish getting himself and the other things ready before Lance arrived.

The apartment was pretty much clean already; he had tried to be at least a little bit productive while he was panicking last night, and had done the rest in the morning while he was waiting for a reply from Shiro about _"what the hell do you do for a dinner date??? Shiro you have a boyfriend you should_ **_know_** _"_ _,_ so really all that was left was to set the table, finish clearing away the things from making dinner, and get himself ready.

Despite what Lance thought, he did take care of his hair. He had it in that style for a reason. Well, it was more of a habit than a legitimate need anymore, but he still did it. Despite the bad memories, he did actually like it. After also changing into some nicer clothes that didn't have dinner ingredients on them, all that was left was to wait for Lance to arrive.

* * *

When Lance arrived at Keith's, he didn't know what to expect. Keith hadn't told him anything about what they were doing, and whatever he had tried to imagine, it hadn't been nearly as nice as this. Keith had made dinner. _Homemade_ dinner! Lance thought it was a perfect first date as an "official couple", awfully thoughtful and domestic. He almost wasn't sure his heart could take it. It didn't help that Keith was acting embarrassed and shy, unsure if it was too much or not enough. Lance just had to hug him close and give him a quick kiss and tell him that he loved it.

Dinner was amazing. Keith had made a lasagna that tasted absolutely fantastic. It wasn't as good as Hunk's - not that he expected it to be. Hunk's cooking was like eating at a five-star restaurant. Though if he had to choose, he would choose Keith's over Hunk's any day. He could just tell how much love Keith had put into making it. Not that Hunk didn't put love into his cooking, he definitely did, it was just different because it was _Keith_. His _boyfriend_. Of _course_ his best friend loved him.

 

 _As long as he didn't know about_ that _, at least. Lance knew no one could love him if they knew about_ that _…_

 

But now they were done with eating dinner, so after helping Keith clear the table, he was ready for some movie-watching and ice-cream-eating while snuggling with Keith. He went and got out the bowls and the ice cream (which _wasn't_ homemade, Keith had joked), while Keith set up the movie on his laptop on the living room table. This really was a perfect date.

* * *

Keith felt like the date had been a success. Lance had liked his food, he hadn't made a fool of himself, and now they were snuggling on the couch in front of his laptop, watching a movie together. Looking at Lance relaxing with him, Keith felt his chest filling with love for his boyfriend. He carefully lifted his hand from where it was resting on Lance's shoulder and started running his fingers through his hair.

* * *

Several things happened in quick succession. As Keith started running his fingers through Lance's hair he felt something hidden in there. As he touched it Lance let out a sharp yell and tried to get as far away from Keith as possible, putting his hands on his head where Keith had touched him. Keith didn't know what to do. The little he could feel before Lance scrambled away from him had felt like… a horn. _Lance had an attribute,_ Keith thought, still slightly in shock over what had happened. Attributes weren't very common, though everyone knew about them. People who for some reason had animal body parts. Horns, hooves, paws, tails, animal ears, eyes, fur, feathers, you name it. There were as many different attributes as there were animals. _And Lance had horns._  Lance's reaction was a bit odd though. Having someone find out you had an attribute was never fun, not when you weren't ready for it, but Lance had sounded like he was in pain or something. Not to mention he looked terrified.

"...Lance," Keith said carefully.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Lance yelled, trying to get even further away.

* * *

He couldn't believe this happened. Keith would hate him now. Keith _knew_ he had an attribute now. Lance tried to fight the tears that were threatening to form in his eyes. His head was hurting more than usual after Keith had touched it, and despite Keith already knowing, he still wanted to hide his horns from him.

"DON'T TRY AND ACT LIKE YOU CARE! YOU HATE ME NOW!" _Oh god, Keith hated him now. His boyfriend hated him. Oh god, he probably didn't have a boyfriend anymore._

"What? Lance I don't…"

"OF COURSE YOU DO! I HAVE HORNS FOR FUCKS SAKE! I'M A MONSTER!" At that he couldn't hold back the tears anymore, finally breaking down sobbing. 

"...I'm a monster," he repeated again through his sobs.

* * *

Keith's heart was breaking. Lance was calling himself a monster, just because he had an attribute? Not only that, he thought _Keith_ hated him.

"...Do you think I'm a monster too?" Keith felt empty inside as he said it.

Lance looked up through his tears. "Huh?"

"I also have horns. Do you think I'm a monster too?"

"What?" Lance didn't look like he thought he was lying, Keith thought, more like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Lance. I don't think you're a monster, and I don't hate you because you have horns. I would never hate you just because you have an attribute. I lov- _like_ you. You know. A lot. I wouldn't hate anyone because they have an attribute." But he knew a lot of people would.

He wanted to hug Lance and wipe away his tears, but he wasn't sure if Lance still wanted him to stay away. He decided to just hug himself for the time being.

* * *

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't mean to hide it from you. It was just habit I guess." Keith said, looking over at him. "Maybe it was subconscious or something. I haven't actually needed to tell anyone before. Everyone has already known." Pausing for a moment, Keith seemed to come to a decision. "Here, I can show them to you? I mean I've talked this much about them, I might as well show you."

Two dark horns were revealed as Keith started brushing away his hair. Reminding Lance of ram horns they were growing close to his head in a curve, starting in line with his ears before curving back so that the tips were right behind where his jaw started.

"They're beautiful..." Lance whispered before he could stop himself.

"Yeah. They are. Took me a while to see it but I love them now." Keith said with a soft smile, reaching up to run his hand along one of them.

"Listen. I don't expect you to show me your horns if you don't want to. But what I really want is to hug my boyfriend who has been crying for several minutes now. Is that okay?"

"Yes." Lance hurried to say before he would start crying again. Keith called him his boyfriend. He still liked him. _He didn't care that he had horns_. Lance hurried to return Keith's embrace, trying to fight back the new tears threatening to form.

* * *

As Keith was hugging Lance, he was trying to fight back tears of his own. He couldn't stand to see Lance hurting. And while Lance definitely had some problems accepting his attribute, Keith hoped he could help him with that as time passed. It wouldn't be easy and it would take time, but he didn't like the thought of Lance hating a part of himself like that.

After hugging for a few minutes, movie still playing in the background, ignored by both of them, Lance decided to break the hug. After taking a moment to collect himself and wipe his tears, he decided to speak.

"Okay, okay." He took a breath, before looking at Keith with serious eyes. "I want to show you my horns."

"Are you sure Lance? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I know, I know. But I want to. I trust you."

Keith watched as Lance took another shuddering breath, before reaching up to his hair to reveal where his horns were hiding. His horns were a shade lighter than his hair, growing close to his scalp, following the shape of his head before turning up slightly at the back.

"Oh god. Lance..." Keith carefully reached forward to take Lance's head in his hands. Because Lance didn't have two horns. No. One of them was broken. His left horn had been broken off around three inches from the base. And it looked bad.

"Oh god..." Keith couldn't think of anything else to say. This must have been what he'd felt when he was dragging his fingers through his hair. He started reaching out to look at it more closely before he suddenly stopped.

"Is… Is this okay?" he asked Lance.

"Yes," came the weak reply.

Now that he had permission to look closer, he moved so that Lance's head was at his chest level, careful not to touch the broken horn. Keith thought he was going to be sick. Because not only was the horn broken off leaving a terrible edge, Keith was pretty sure he could see rot. Rot. Lance's horn was rotting.

"We have to get you to a hospital," Keith said before reaching to get his phone.

"What, why?"

"Because you're seriously hurt, Lance. You need medical attention."

Keith opened up his conversation with Shiro.

 **Keith:** _can you give us a ride to the hospital? Lance is hurt._

"I'm fine, Keith."

"No. You're not. When did this even happen?"

 **Shiro:** _I'm on my way. What happened?_

"A few months ago or something? I'm fin-"

"DON'T SAY YOU'RE FINE! YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT FINE!" Keith winced as he said it.

"Oh shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. But it looks really bad." He didn't want to talk about the rot. He _couldn't_ talk about it. "Aren't… Are you in pain? Did I hurt you?"

Lance gave him a careful nod.

"It's fine though, I take pain meds, they take care of most of it. You mostly just surprised me, I wasn't ready for it. And it's gotten better. I think." He _thinks_. Lance had been in pain for a few _months_. Keith had to fight back his anger. He wasn't mad at Lance. He was mad at whoever hurt him.

"Lance. Please come with me to the hospital. Shiro is on his way. Please come." Keith could see Lance about to start arguing. "Please, Lance? If you're right and it's fine, then fine. Then we know. But I can't stand the thought of you being hurt. So please, please let a doctor or someone look at it?"

* * *

Lance didn't want to go to a hospital, he really didn't, it would mean more people would know about his horns. And they would ask him a bunch of questions. Questions he'd rather not answer. But the pleading look Keith gave him made him reconsider.

"Okay. I'll go with you to the hospital. But only because I don't want to see you upset," Lance said with a small smile. Keith returned it before giving him a bump with his shoulder.

"It will be a while longer until Shiro arrives. Do you want to continue to cuddle and eat ice cream while we wait?"

Lance had forgotten about the ice cream. "That would be nice," he answered, smiling brighter now. He watched as Keith rewound the movie before settling down next to Lance again. He was glad they'd moved on from the topic for now, but he had to admit it was kind of nice knowing that Keith knew and didn't mind that he had horns. So, for now, he was content with snuggling with his boyfriend before Shiro arrived.

* * *

Keith had only done something as innocent as to run his fingers through Lance's hair. And now Lance was in the hospital. In surgery even. And Keith _knew_ it wasn't his fault, but it didn't help keep his feelings at bay. He wasn't the one who had hurt him. Keith didn't know who had hurt him - he hadn't said - but Keith was the one to force him to the hospital.

"You did the right thing, Keith." God, Keith was happy to have Shiro with him while he waited for Lance.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course you did. You heard what the doctors said, it was a good thing he came in when he did."

"I'm just so _scared,_ Shiro. I've been freaking out since I found out. I just want him to be okay." Keith could feel tears starting to form in his eyes. "I tried to be calm for his sake but he's not here right now. He's in _surgery_ , Shiro. _Surgery_. And I don't know what to do!" Keith could feel his shoulders start shaking as his resolve crumbled. Suddenly he could feel Shiro's arms around him as he hugged him.

"It's okay to be scared Keith. It's okay to cry." Keith started sobbing against Shiro, comforted by both his words and his hug, he started to let his feeling show. "You did everything you could. And Lance will be fine." Keith could feel Shiro rubbing his back and felt a new wave of tears start flowing.

"I was just so scared, Shiro. I hurt him."

"I know. It's not your fault, Keith. It's okay."

They stayed like that for a long time - Shiro hugging Keith and whispering reassurances until he calmed down.

* * *

Lance woke up slowly. He wondered where he was. He could hear voices but he couldn't understand them; he wondered what they were talking about. But he couldn't understand them so he decided to just ignore them. He felt like he had been hearing them for hours now. Maybe he should open his eyes? Nah, he was okay with just listening right now. It was nice. Was he waking up? Lance didn't know. It did feel brighter now, and he could understand the voices better now. It sounded like Keith. Lance liked Keith. He would like to talk to Keith… but he felt like he wasn't awake enough for talking. Maybe he should try opening his eyes now? Hmm… it didn't work. His eyes felt super heavy and impossible to open. But he felt awake? It would be nice to wake up for real soon and not just be in this in-between. Maybe talking would be easier than trying to open his eyes.

"...eith?"

"Lance! Are you waking up now?"

Lance wanted to laugh at that. He felt wide awake, had for a while now. His body just didn't agree with him on that point.

"...'ve ‘een ‘wake fo' hours."

"Okay, Lance." Was Keith laughing at him? "Do you think you can open your eyes?" Hmm… he thought he could, but he'd thought so the last time he'd tried too…. He supposed he could try for Keith's sake. This time he actually managed to open his eyes a little! But it was really bright…

"Good job, Lance! Keep trying? I want to see you." Lance decided to keep trying. It was hard, and it took a while, but at last he opened his eyes.

"Hi, Lance." There was Keith. God he looked so pretty. What was that? Oh right, his horns. Keith had horns.

"Hey." His voice sounded terrible!

"How are you feeling?"

"Why are you always so pretty? It's so unfair!" His voice was a little better now. And now Keith was blushing!! Was he trying to kill him?

"I doubt I would keep you company in a hospital if I was going to kill you, Lance." Oh, he'd said that out loud. "Would you like some water? The doctors said you might be thirsty when waking up."

Lance nodded and accepted the water Keith gave him.

"They also said you shouldn't drink much at once, or you might be sick. Well, they said you might experience nausea anyway but drinking too much probably doesn't help."

"Thanks. For the water." His voice definitely felt better now. "Besides, maybe you would stay at the hospital to throw off the police, I don't know how a murderer thinks. You're smart you would probably do something clever like that."

Keith gave him a hug, holding him close.

"I'm glad you're okay, Lance," he whispered in his ear before letting go. "I'm going to tell the nurse you're awake so that you'll get all the info you need so that we can leave. I'll be right back." Keith paused for a tick before giving Lance a quick kiss before leaving. That boy really was too much for Lance's weak, romantic heart.

* * *

Keith listened as Lance was given his information. He had to take some medicine for the pain, he might experience some nausea, he would need adult supervision for the first 24 hours, he was told how to care for his horn as it was healing, he was to contact them if there were any problems or weird symptoms. All pretty standard stuff. He wasn't sure if Lance would be able to remember all of it, considering how dazed he'd acted when he first woke up. But he supposed that's why he was there, to help him remember all that and take care of him. His chest gave a painful squeeze at that thought and he had to fight to not let his sad emotions take over again. Lance was okay. Everything is okay.

"And that's it. You're free to leave now." The nurse gave them both a smile before leaving them alone again.

"So, Shiro's on his way. When he's back we can go."

"Back? When did he leave?" God, his eyes were big right now. He was definitely not totally off the anesthesia yet.

"He left soon after you got out of surgery." _...And I'd managed to stop crying,_ he thought. "He hadn't really planned to rush us to the hospital tonight and we didn't know how long it would take for you to wake up so he decided to go home and wait there as long as I was cool with it." _Which I was at first because you were fine finally but then I started worrying again._

"Oh right. Yeah, I don't want to ruin his night as well…"

"Lance, you didn't ruin our night. Sure, I hadn't really planned on taking you to the hospital… But I had a great time tonight, before the whole "horn-reveal-slash-argument thing". And I kind of liked that too. Not because of all the yelling and the crying and stuff. I kind of hated that part. But I learned something new about you. And I got to tell you something about me as well. Which was nice." Keith took a breath. He really didn't want Lance to feel guilty about something that was no way his fault. "I loved our date tonight. Sure it didn't go exactly as planned, but when do plans go as planned? If I could choose between the night we had and the night where everything went as planned I would choose this one, hands down. Learning more things about you is not something I could ever regret."

"Even when it's about terrible things like attributes?"

Keith's heart hurt. He knew it would take a while for Lance to believe that attributes aren't bad. That's not something that would happen quickly or easily, just knowing that Keith had an attribute and having surgery on his own was not something that would make him change his mind about that.

"Of course not. I want to know everything about you, you know. Besides, attributes aren't terrible. They're great." He gave Lance a sad smile. He tried to just give him a normal, happy smile. A caring smile. But he knew that he'd failed. He gave Lance another quick kiss. "I think Shiro will be here soon. You ready to try and walk? I'll support you if needed."

* * *

Arriving back at Keith's place was a bit of a surreal experience. So much had happened, but everything looked exactly the same. The laptop on the living room table. The dirty ice cream bowls beside it. The blanket on the floor. The half-empty ice cream carton that they forgot to put away. It made it feel like the whole hospital thing never happened.

"So I guess you'll sleep in my bed and I'll take the couch?" Keith asked as they entered the apartment.

Lance didn't want to sleep yet. Sure, he was tired, but he'd just slept, even if it had been medically-induced sleep. Besides, he still felt like he'd ruined their date.

"Could we… stay up a while longer?" Lance asked tentatively before suddenly backtracking. "No sorry! We can go to bed! You stayed up while waiting for me, right? We can definitely go to bed now if you want."

"I don't mind staying up longer. It isn't all that late anyway. I just thought you might want to sleep." Lance could feel Keith's arms wrapping around him, pulling him into a hug. "I want to take care of you, you know."

Lance could feel his face heat up. He couldn't really believe how much Keith cared for him. Not even mentioning the original date, he'd also spent the entire evening waiting for him at the hospital, _got him to go in the first place,_ and took care of him afterwards. Keith really cared about him, even after finding out his secret.

Keith made Lance sit down on the couch while he took away their bowls and the ice cream carton. Lance wanted to protest that Keith should let him help, but he didn't feel completely stable yet, so he resigned himself to waiting while Keith cleaned up.

"I never got an answer from you at the hospital. How are you feeling?" He asked when he was done, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"I want to see it. I haven't seen it yet." He didn't know what they'd done with the horn. He hadn't listened to the doctors talk before the surgery, and he couldn't remember if they'd said anything after he'd woken up. "There's a mirror in the bathroom, right?"

"Uh, yeah…"

Lance stood up as quickly as we could and walked to the bathroom. Standing in front of the door, he paused. He hadn't looked at his horns much before. Mostly, he'd tried to ignore them - the only time he'd look at them was when he was hiding them. He wasn't sure he was ready.

"Hey…" Keith's voice alerted Lance that he'd come over. "It's okay. Take the time you need." Lance let Keith take his hand. "I'm here if you need me."

He took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Okay. I'm ready."

Lance opened the door and stepped into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror he fell back on his habit of not looking at his horns. He still wanted to delay it as much as possible.

Instead he looked at his skin. He took good care of it and it showed. Then he looked at his eyes. He loved their color, how it made them stand out against his skin. He almost started checking his teeth before deciding he'd delayed it enough.

As before, he was confronted with how _wrong_ he looked with one long horn and the other one short. It didn't make it easier for him to imagine him not having horns at all. He thought it had the opposite effect, drawing more attention to his horns, to his horrible attribute. It was his fault for having an attribute in the first place. Looking at his left horn, his damaged horn, he first saw that it was covered in a bandage before also noticing that it had gotten a lot shorter than when he'd seen it last. He carefully reached up to touch it. It did hurt a little when he touched it, a sharp ache, but it was nothing like the pain he was expecting - the pain he was used to feeling. The horn was definitely shorter; there was only about an inch left of it now.

Focused on his horn, Lance almost didn't notice Keith joining him by the mirror.

"They said they got to it in time. It'll grow out."

Lance didn't know why, but for some reason that made him feel relieved.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah." He turned away from the mirror. "I don't want to look at it anymore; let's go back to the couch."

They sat in silence for a while, Keith probably waiting for him to break the silence.

"I don't… I don't know how I'm feeling, alright? It feels weird. It doesn't hurt anymore, not the way it used to and… I don't know how I'm supposed to feel Keith. I'm grateful, I guess. But I deserved it you know? It was my fault. If I didn't have an attribute this wouldn't have happened. I should live with the consequences."

"Lance." He looked up at Keith. "I don't know who made you think this, but you do not have to punish yourself just because you have an attribute. It's not your "fault" you have an attribute, because having an attribute isn't bad."

* * *

Keith didn't know what to say to Lance. He wasn't good with words, and he didn't want to say something that would make him defensive, make him upset. He wanted to make him understand that there's nothing wrong with having an attribute. But Lance needed to _understand_ it, not just hear him say it. And he didn't know how to do that.

"When… When I was younger, especially when I was a kid, I was called a lot of things because of my attribute. I believed them. I became convinced that was the reason why my parents left me. Despite them leaving before it manifested. I mean, besides, odds are at least one of them also had an attribute." He looked up at Lance. He didn't like talking about him growing up. "I was in a really bad place for a while. It took me a long time for me to be okay with them, to realize that those who made me believe those things about me were wrong, and I couldn't do it alone.

"There's nothing wrong with having an attribute, there's nothing weird about it, it doesn't make you "less human". Those who judge you for having horns are wrong to do so. And there's a bunch of people who don't care about whether or not you have horns." God, Keith felt awkward saying this, but he felt like he needed to say it. "I _really_ like you, Lance. I don't mind your horns at all. I actually think that they are very pretty and that they fit you very well. I don't even care about the fact that one of them is shorter than the other! What I do care about is you, and how someone could do this to you."

"...It was my mom."

"What?" Keith couldn't help himself, he was just so confused.

"It was my mom who destroyed my horn. Though if it was she who actually did it I can't remember. Horn's are pretty hard to break, I know. I...I've tried." Keith could feel his heart breaking for Lance with every word he spoke. "She never liked attributes, and no one else in my family has one. I can kind of remember her reaction to when mine manifested; she was very angry. She still loves me though, just… not my attribute. She made me keep it hidden." Lance paused for a second. "It was my fault, I hadn't hidden my horns all that well that morning I guess. Mom saw them and got upset or something. I think she was yelling at me; I actually don't remember most of what happened. But I remember it hurt. It hurt like hell. But I deserved it you know. It was my fault. Anyway, I woke up later and my horn was gone. It still hurt, but I dealt with it. I didn't ask Mom what happened, or anyone else. She's never changed her stance on attributes.

"It doesn't matter what happened. It was my fault; I've had to live with my punishment. So that's why I didn't tell anyone, in addition to me not wanting anyone to know I have an attribute. Mom isn't the only one who doesn't like attributes, I know that."

"Lance, just because your mom isn't alone in thinking that, it doesn't make her right. You haven't done anything to deserve having your horn broken off, or anything else for that matter. Lance, those people are _wrong_. You shouldn't be _punished_ for having an attribute." Keith gave Lance a tight hug. "I can't believe she could do this to you." He murmured into Lance's shoulder. "I would punch her it if would make things better. But it won't - it'll probably make it worse - but I really want to. I wish I could make sure you never get hurt, Lance." Keith hoped Lance would understand what he tried to say, that it wasn't Lance's fault and that Keith cared about him.

* * *

Wrapped up in Keith's hug, Lance wanted to cry. It felt nice to finally tell someone about what'd happened, and since that someone had been Keith, that made it even better. He wasn't mad at him, just concerned about him. _Maybe it wasn't my fault,_ he thought. Keith had brought up some good points… but it still felt hard to believe. It would mean something he'd believed his entire life was wrong. But maybe it _wasn't_ his fault; he hadn't asked to have an attribute, he hadn't asked to have his horn broken off, the only thing he had done was not hide his attribute completely. He wasn't even sure it had been that visible.

Keith didn't hate him because of his horns, so maybe they weren't all that horrible… Keith really cared for him and wanted him to feel better. Both his actions and his words told Lance as much.

God, he _was_ crying now, wasn't he. He'd already cried so much tonight. He could feel Keith stroke his back with comforting movements, which made him want to cry even more.

"Did you mean it? That it wasn't my fault?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course," came Keith's reply, not hesitant in the slightest.

* * *

Keith hugged Lance until he was done crying. When Lance asked him if they could stop talking about attributes for now, Keith immediately agreed. They'd talked about it enough for the evening, probably more than enough.

As per Lance's earlier request, they stayed up. They finished watching the movie, snuggling on the couch as they talked about it and other mundane things. Keith talked about his panic about planning the date and how happy he was with the result. Lance told him how excited he had been about the date and how he thought Keith had done a great job. After the movie ended they decided to watch an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before going to bed. They also decided that Lance would sleep on Keith's bed (because he _did_ just have surgery) and Keith would take the couch.

Before they said good night, Keith hugged Lance again.

"I'm glad you told me," he said softly before giving Lance a good night kiss. "Sleep well. Don't hesitate to wake me if you want something, okay?"

"I won't." Lance gave Keith another kiss. They stood like that for a while, just hugging, before Lance broke their embrace. "Good night, Keith. I'll see you in the morning."

Keith smiled. "Good night, Lance."

**Author's Note:**

> Lance's experience waking up after surgery is based on how I remember my Experience waking up after getting my teeth removed to be like. It was a while ago though.
> 
> You can always talk to me on my tumblr: [Moonlovingvampire](http://moonlovingvampire.tumblr.com)


End file.
